The Athletic Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors
The Athletic was acquired by New York Times for $550M in January 2022, a 8.5x multiple on $65M of revenue.
The Athletic revenue at acquisition
$65M
Last twelve months · Jan 2022
The Athletic revenue multiple at acquisition
8.5x
EV/Revenue · Jan 2022
Cumulative funding The Athletic raised
$140M
across 6 funding rounds
About The Athletic
The Athletic is an American subscription sports journalism publication headquartered in San Francisco that now operates as the sports department of The New York Times. It was launched in January 2016 by Alex Mather and Adam Hansmann as an independent, ad-free online sports magazine, starting in Chicago with coverage of the Cubs and Blackhawks, and took part in Y Combinator's summer 2016 batch. It expanded city by city by hiring well-known beat writers and by 2022 offered local coverage in 47 North American cities and regions plus the United Kingdom, along with national coverage of professional and college sports, podcasts and long-form reporting. Its business was built on consumer subscriptions and funded by venture capital from investors including Courtside Ventures, Founders Fund and Bedrock, but it struggled to turn a profit, and when it began exploring a sale in 2021 it had 1.2 million subscribers and $80 million of revenue. The New York Times Company acquired The Athletic for $550 million in cash in early 2022 and in July 2023 replaced its own sports desk with it. The Athletic turned profitable in the third quarter of 2024, and at the end of 2024 5.83 million subscribers had access to it directly or through a bundle.
Founded
2015
HQ
San Francisco, CAWebsite
Status
Acquired
Customer focus
B2C
Revenue model
Subscription
Revenue
$65M (Jan 2022)
Valuation
$500M (Jan 2020)
Sectors
The Athletic Acquisition
The Athletic was acquired by New York Times for $550M on 6 January 2022.
The acquisition price implies a 8.5x revenue multiple on $65M of revenue.
Before the acquisition The Athletic had raised $140M across 6 funding rounds.
The New York Times acquired The Athletic, a subscription-based digital sports media company founded in 2016 by Alex Mather and Adam Hansmann, for $550 million in cash. The deal, announced in January 2022 and closed around April 2022, positions The Athletic as a separately run subsidiary with its co-founders remaining in leadership roles reporting to a Times executive. The Athletic, which had raised about $140 million in funding including a $50 million round in January 2020 valuing it near $500 million, relied primarily on 1.2 million subscribers for revenue amid slowing growth and prior losses. The acquisition aims to accelerate the Times' subscriber engagement and digital growth, adding The Athletic's subscribers to its 8.4 million base. The Times expects The Athletic to immediately boost revenue growth but anticipates operating profit dilution for about three years as it scales subscriptions and advertising before becoming accretive. Pre-acquisition, The Athletic reported $65 million revenue and $55 million operating loss in 2021, improving to $85.7 million revenue and $36 million loss in 2022 under Times ownership.
| Acquirer | Date | Type | Price | EV/Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 Jan 2022 | Strategic M&A | $550M | 8.5x |
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
The Athletic Valuation
The Athletic is currently valued at $500M, based on its Series D in January 2020. Read the announcement ↗
The $50M round was led by Bedrock Capital Partners, with participation from Emerson Collective, Powerhouse Capital, Y Combinator, Comcast Ventures and Switch Ventures.
The Athletic's valuation has grown 2.5x from $200M at its Series C in October 2018 to $500M in January 2020, across 2 priced rounds.
The Athletic valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2020 | Series D | $500M |
| Oct 2018 | Series C | $200M |
The Athletic Funding History
The Athletic has raised a total of $140M across 6 funding rounds.
The Athletic's first fundraising round was a $2M seed round in January 2017. The most recent completed round was a $50M Series D in January 2020.
The Athletic funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2020 | Series D | Bedrock Capital Partners (lead); Emerson Collective; Powerhouse Capital; Y Combinator; Comcast Ventures; Switch Ventures | $50M | $500M | The Athletic is a subscription-driven digital sports media company offering in-depth coverage of professional teams through articles, podcasts, and videos, focusing on a direct-to-consumer model without ads. In January 2020, it raised $50 million in a Series D funding round led by Bedrock Capital Partners, with participation from Emerson Collective, Powerhouse Capital, Switch Ventures, Y Combinator, Comcast Ventures, and others including actor Matthew McConaughey via Plus Capital. This brought total funding to $139.5 million since 2016, with a post-money valuation of approximately $500 million. The funds were earmarked for expanding headquarters, growing international subscriber base, and building a robust business foundation projected to achieve profitability in 2020. At the time, The Athletic employed over 500 full-time staff, mostly in editorial roles, with the San Francisco headquarters workforce nearly tripling to 85 since 2018 and engineering expanding by 300%. Co-founder Adam Hansmann projected reaching one million global subscribers soon. Prior rounds included a $40 million Series C in October 2018 co-led by Founders Fund and Bedrock Capital at roughly $200 million valuation, and additional funding in 2019. The company's growth influenced a shift in sports media toward subscription models. Later, it was acquired by The New York Times in January 2022 for $550 million, with reports of around $80 million generated in 2020 but no contemporaneous revenue or EBITDA disclosure for the 2020 round. |
| May 2019 | Series C | Founders Fund (lead); Powerhouse Capital | $22M | - | The Athletic, the subscription sports news publisher, raised about USD 22 million in May 2019 from existing investors in a round led by Founders Fund, an extension of its Series C financing. The company did not publish a valuation for the round; Sportico later reported that a planned raise at more than USD 500 million in late 2019 implied a valuation at least two-thirds higher than the level of the May round. The money was used for international expansion, notably the build-out of its United Kingdom football coverage, and for further hiring of writers and podcast staff. At the time The Athletic had raised about USD 90 million in total and reported more than 500,000 subscribers in July 2019, with its founders projecting one million by the end of the year. The company was founded in 2016 in San Francisco by Alex Mather and Adam Hansmann and charged readers a subscription for advertising-free coverage of professional and college teams. It raised a further USD 50 million in January 2020 and was sold to The New York Times Company in 2022 for USD 550 million. |
| Oct 2018 | Series C | Bedrock Capital Partners (lead); Founders Fund (lead); Courtside Ventures; Y Combinator; 1745 Ventures; TCG; Comcast Ventures; Advancit Capital; Luminari Capital; Amasia; Evolution Media | $40M | $200M | The Athletic is a digital sports media platform operating on a subscription model, founded in 2016, that generates revenue primarily through consumer subscriptions rather than advertising. The company positions itself as a direct-to-consumer media outlet offering deep, original coverage of professional sports teams across North America, Britain, and Europe, targeting dedicated sports fans who are willing to pay for premium content rather than aggregated free journalism. In October 2018, The Athletic closed a Series C funding round of $40 million co-led by Founders Fund and Bedrock Capital Partners, with participation from earlier backers including Comcast Ventures, Evolution Media Capital, Courtside Ventures, The Chernin Group, Y Combinator, Advancit, and Luminari, as well as new investors Amasia and BDMI. The round brought the company's post-money valuation to approximately $200 million and brought total cumulative funding to $70 million since launch. CEO Alex Mather stated the funding would be deployed to invest in audience, data and editorial teams, as well as podcasts and video teams, emphasizing the company's focus on building a sustainable, subscription-driven business model. At the time of the round, The Athletic had expanded coverage to 47 markets (up from 12 in January 2018), with CEO Mather reporting that most markets over one year old were profitable and the majority of markets over six months old were generating profit. Subsequent reports indicated the company generated approximately $80 million in revenue in 2020 and brought in about $65 million in 2021 with operating losses of roughly $55 million. |
| Mar 2018 | Series B | Evolution Media (lead); Courtside Ventures; Y Combinator; 1745 Ventures; TCG; Chris Silbermann; Precursor Ventures; Ali Rowghani; Advancit Capital; LionTree; Luminari Capital; Amasia | $20M | - | The Athletic, a digital sports media company offering subscription-based coverage of professional sports teams in various cities, raised $20 million in its third funding round in March 2018, led by Evolution Media, with plans to double its staff from 120 writers and expand to new markets including Boston, Los Angeles, U.S. soccer, Mexico, U.K., and national NFL and NBA coverage. This followed earlier rounds: $2.3 million seed in January 2017 and $5.4 million Series A in July 2017, both led by Courtside Ventures. CEO Alex Mather noted the company had reached six-figure subscribers, with some early markets like Chicago exceeding 25,000 subscribers and achieving profitability at $8/month or $48/year subscription pricing, though the overall company was not yet profitable. The funding supported aggressive expansion into every market with a professional sports team, focusing on NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and possibly MLS, alongside testing sponsorships for events and podcasts, and considering local TV syndication deals. A later valuation range of $500 million to $1 billion was reported as of January 2020 after subsequent raises including $40 million Series C in October 2018 and more. The company aimed to hire aggressively despite not yet being profitable in all markets like Philadelphia. The Athletic continued growing post-2018 with additional rounds: $21.8 million Series C in May 2019, $50 million Series D in January 2020, before facing unprofitability in 2021 with 1.2 million subscribers and $80 million revenue, leading to its $550 million acquisition by The New York Times in 2022. By Q2 2025, it reported $54 million revenue and $5.8 million profit under NYT ownership. |
| Jul 2017 | Series A | Courtside Ventures (lead); Fouad ElNaggar; Ore Ventures; 1745 Ventures; TCG; Advancit Capital; Luminari Capital; Amasia; Andy Rankin | $5M | - | The Athletic raised $5.4 million in its Series A funding round in July 2017, led by Courtside Ventures with participation from investors including 1745 Ventures, Advancit Capital, Amasia, Andy Rankin, Fouad ElNaggar, Luminari Capital, Ore Ventures, and TCG. This followed a $2.3 million seed round in January 2017, also led by Courtside Ventures. The company operates as a subscription-based sports media platform, launching with coverage in cities like Chicago and Toronto, and expanding through mobile apps and websites. |
| Jan 2017 | Seed | Courtside Ventures (lead); Ore Ventures; 1745 Ventures; Advancit Capital; Luminari Capital | $2M | - | The Athletic raised USD 2.3 million in seed funding in January 2017, its first major outside capital, in a round provided principally by Courtside Ventures, the sports-focused venture firm. Other participants recorded for the round included 1745 Ventures, Advancit Capital, Luminari Capital and Ore Ventures. The Athletic had been founded in 2016 by Alex Mather and Adam Hansmann, both formerly of the fitness app Strava, and it went through the Y Combinator accelerator. The company launched in Chicago with a subscription-only, advertising-free model for local sports coverage, paying experienced beat writers to cover individual teams and charging readers a monthly or annual fee. It expanded to Toronto soon afterwards and used the seed money to add writers and cities. The seed round was followed in July 2017 by a USD 5.4 million Series A, again led by Courtside Ventures, and by larger rounds in 2018 and 2020 as the company built a national and international newsroom. The New York Times Company acquired The Athletic in 2022 for USD 550 million. |
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Who has invested in The Athletic?
21 investors have backed The Athletic across its funding rounds, including 1745 Ventures, Advancit Capital, Courtside Ventures, Luminari Capital, Y Combinator and TCG.
Lead investors include Bedrock Capital Partners, Founders Fund, Evolution Media and Courtside Ventures.
The Athletic Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York City, NY | 4 | Lead | Jan 2017 | |
| New York City, NY | 4 | Participant | Jan 2017 | |
| Boston, MA | 4 | Participant | Jan 2017 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 4 | Participant | Jan 2017 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 3 | Participant | Mar 2018 | |
| Los Angeles, CA | 3 | Participant | Jul 2017 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 3 | Participant | Jul 2017 | |
| Los Angeles, CA | 2 | Participant | May 2019 | |
| New York City, NY | 2 | Participant | Jan 2017 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 2 | Participant | Oct 2018 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 2 | Lead | Oct 2018 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 2 | Lead | Oct 2018 | |
| Los Angeles, CA | 2 | Lead | Mar 2018 | |
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Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
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Start Free TrialThe Athletic Competitors
The Athletic competitors include listed companies like Taboola and Weathernews, and private ones like LiveScore Group, Inshorts, Guinness Pro14 and Inter Miami CF.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 London | Private | $133M | - | $665M | 5.0x | |
 Noida | Private | $19M | - | $550M | 28.9x | |
| United States | Publicly listed | $1.9B | $121M | $533M | 0.3x | |
 Dublin | Private | $23M | - | $570M | 24.8x | |
 Japan | Publicly listed | $155M | $37M | $509M | 2.6x | |
| Miami, FL | Private | $56M | ($5M) | $600M | - |
The Athletic Public Comps
The Athletic is no longer listed, but its public comps include Taboola, Weathernews, Network18 Media & Investments, Wirtualna Polska, Ollamani, Value Line, m-up holdings, Sichuan Newsnet Media, Better Collective and Juventus FC.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $1.9B | $121M | 0.3x | 0.3x | 4.6x | 2.5x | |||
| $155M | $37M | 2.6x | 2.6x | 11.0x | 10.7x | |||
| $217M | $51M | 3.6x | - | 15.1x | - | |||
| $564M | $98M | 1.3x | 1.2x | 7.7x | 5.4x | |||
| $348M | $36M | 2.3x | 1.9x | 22.3x | 11.2x | |||
| $33M | $29M | 9.3x | - | 10.8x | - | |||
| $200M | $32M | 1.5x | 1.4x | 9.6x | - | |||
| $46M | $14M | 6.6x | - | 21.5x | - | |||
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Common questions about The Athletic
| When was The Athletic founded? | The Athletic was founded in 2015. |
| Where is The Athletic headquartered? | The Athletic is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, United States. |
| Is The Athletic publicly listed? | No, The Athletic was acquired by New York Times in January 2022. |
| Who acquired The Athletic? | The Athletic was acquired by New York Times in January 2022. |
| How much was The Athletic acquired for? | The Athletic was acquired for $550M in January 2022, a 8.5x revenue multiple. |
| What is The Athletic's valuation? | The Athletic was last valued at $500M in its Series D in January 2020. |
| How much funding has The Athletic raised? | The Athletic has raised $140M across 6 funding rounds. |
| What was The Athletic's last funding round? | The Athletic's last funding round was a $50M Series D in January 2020, led by Bedrock Capital Partners. |
| Who are The Athletic's investors? | The Athletic's investors include Courtside Ventures, 1745 Ventures, Advancit Capital, Luminari Capital, Y Combinator, TCG, Amasia, Powerhouse Capital, Ore Ventures, Comcast Ventures and 11 others. |
| Which companies are comparable to The Athletic? | Companies comparable to The Athletic include LiveScore Group, Inshorts, Taboola, Guinness Pro14, Weathernews and Inter Miami CF. |
See companies similar to The Athletic
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